Abraham Believed the Gospel
Abraham was a man who had the gospel preached to him and who walked by faith. He was a man who believed God and believed the gospel to perform in his life what God had promised him. And it says we are to walk in the steps of faithful Abraham. Everything in our life will be performed through the gospel and it will come by believing (trusting in and relying on) the power of God. There are no short cuts with God - your faith will be tested and tried in every situation that God puts you in. And you will have to believe the gospel, just like Abraham - and just like Jesus.
Let us begin by looking at Galatians 3:7-9. It states, "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." The gospel is always a blessing and we will see that in a minute. And when we are walking in faith, or by faith, we will be blessed with faithful Abraham. Praise God.
In Genesis 12:3, God told Abraham that in him shall all families of the earth be blessed. Did you know that this gospel will bless you? You may say, "Well, how is that?" It blesses you by turning you from your iniquities. God raised up Jesus, and sent Him to bless us, in turning every one of us from our iniquities (perversities or wickedness). You can read this in Acts 3:26. The gospel is always a blessing. Whether you believe it or not, it is a blessing to be turned from your iniquities. And if you have sickness in your body, an empty checkbook in your purse or pocket, unforgiveness in your heart, covetousness, idolatry, a problem with drugs or alcohol, fear - or whatever else it may be, it is a blessing to be turned from that wickedness. And that is what this gospel will do for you, if you will believe it.
God wants to make us perfectly sound in our spirit, body and soul. That sounds impossible to the mind, but thank God that what is impossible with man (or to your mind) is possible with God. All things are possible if we can believe. And what you believe is the gospel - the death, burial and resurrection power of the Lord Jesus. You have to mix faith with the gospel for it to profit you, though. If you want to prevail over any problem you have, know this - Jesus already overcame it 2000 years ago when He was raised from the dead. And the victory for you to overcome it will be your faith.
And God has given you the measure of faith you need, if you have presented your body to Him as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Him, which is your reasonable service. You need to meditate and speak the gospel to yourself, because it says that faith comes by hearing the gospel - that Jesus died, He was buried and He rose again. Just say it over and over again and believe what you are saying by mixing faith with it. You will notice that faith will begin to rise up in your heart. Also, if you do not already have Doyle's teaching tapes, get them - they are free of charge. Listen to them, because they will minister faith and the gospel to your heart. (Go to www.doyledavidson.com).
Let's get back to Abraham and how he believed the gospel. The whole chapter of Romans 4 talks about Abraham, but go to verses 17 and 18. "(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him who he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be." That was the gospel spoken to Abraham, "So shall thy seed be". And Abraham believed it, even though He had a dead body and Sarah had a dead womb, which we will see in the following verses. So against hope - two dead bodies that could not reproduce, he believed in hope anyway.
Verse 19 continues on, "And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:." You know, when you believe the gospel, you will not consider your circumstances at all - no matter how hopeless or helpless they look. You will look to the One raised from the dead to perform every thing that you need in your life. It goes on to say, "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;" (verse 20). Strong faith will glorify God and not stagger - not doubt, waver or bend - at God's promises. In other words, it will not be double minded. Strong faith does not consider anything but Jesus. So if you believe this gospel, you will not be weak in faith nor stagger at what God has said, but you will give glory (honour) to God.
Verse 21 continues on, "And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform." Are you fully persuaded - completely assured, or convinced - that the things God has spoken to you He is able to perform? You may say, "God has not spoken anything to me." Well, He has spoken the gospel to you - that Jesus died, was buried and rose again - and that is the power of God unto your salvation if you will believe it. Do you need deliverance from anything that hinders you? The gospel is what will bring deliverance to you this day. And all you have to do is believe it - trust in and rely on it to perform for you. Be fully persuaded that this gospel will work every single time for whatever it is you need - salvation is now. That is strong faith! And Hebrews 4:2 says to mix faith with the gospel and it will profit you.
Then here is what will happen to you when you have strong faith and don't stagger at what God has said to you, because you are fully persuaded that He will perform it -- He will impute righteousness to you. Verses 22-25, "And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone (Abraham's), that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." Righteousness is imputed to you when you believe the gospel. And that righteousness is revealed in the gospel. Righteousness is by faith, and it is upon all and unto all that will believe. So believing this gospel is the key to complete victory in our lives for everything we will ever need. That is why Jesus said, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel."
You know, Sarah believed God too. She had faith and her faith had to be perfected right along with Abraham's. Both of their faith was tested and tried. And in Hebrews it says that she judged Him faithful who had promised them a child and she received the strength to conceive seed and was delivered of that child when she was past age. They did not consult with physicians about their condition - they believed the gospel. And their condition (in their bodies) looked like an impossibility to the mind - like a hopeless situation. She was ninety years old - way past the age of child-bearing, and Abraham about one hundred. Her womb was dead and his body dead. But they both walked by faith, and that faith mixed with the gospel is what produced Isaac. The power of God working in a person's life will make the impossible - possible.
Our faith will be tried just like it says in I Peter - as gold is tried with fire. If you have never had your faith tested and tried, you have never been through anything. Because when God puts you in a situation and starts leading you down some righteous paths, you will have your faith tested and tried more than you want. But know this, it is the love of God to put you in these situations to perfect your faith and love.
Over the past 14 years I have had the Lord put me in certain situations, and it was for that very reason - to try me and prove me (my faith) and see if I would obey Him - and not a man. You may say, "I don't want to go through anything to have my faith tested and tried." And God may do you like He did Ephraim - leave you alone, because you're joined to your idols (Hosea 4:17). It's just better to humble yourself before God and let Him deal with your heart, so that your faith can be purified so you can walk by faith in this earth. And to walk by faith is to be led by the Spirit of God.
It also says in I Peter that our faith is much more precious than gold that perishes. And when our faith is tried, it will work patience in us. Because it is through faith and patience we inherit the promises.
There is a scripture in Hebrews 10:36 that just came up in my spirit. It says, "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." There is a will of God with every promise, and after we have done that will - then we will receive the promise. But it says that we have need of patience before we obtain that promise.
Years back, there were times I would read that scripture and my soul did not like that at all - that I had need of patience. I wanted everything right this minute. But God was saying, "Lisa, you have need of patience, and I am going to work that patience in you." Patience is continuance - where you continue believing the gospel under all kinds of pressure. And when the pressure would hit, is when I would quit believing, because I had little or no patience - continuance. But after God started working some of it in my heart, that patience started producing some experience (or proof), and then hope. And it says that hope will not make you ashamed - and I did like that! Because the love of God was then shed in my heart by the Holy Spirit.
I can honestly say that God has worked patience in me to the point I do not ever stop believing this gospel to perform what God has promised me - no matter how much pressure there is, or how great an attack of the devil there is. I have never, and God is my witness, once doubted the things that God has spoken to me about my life and about my children. I have, on occasion, humbled myself and said, "Lord, if that wasn't you that spoke that to me, than you had better tell me now, because I sure believed that was the voice of God I heard tell me that." And He has always assured me it was Him that spoke it to me.
I have learned to pray hour upon hour to get to the place where I don't cave in and quit believing the gospel. And that is what Jesus said to do, "Pray that you enter not into temptation." That is a work of the gospel in my heart, and that is what this gospel will do in your heart, if you will even dare to believe it. It will take some effort on your part, because your soul will not want to pray. And you will have to overcome that soul, and you do it in prayer. Soul says, "I don't want to pray, I had rather sulk and feel sorry for myself." But you overcome that soul by praying anyway. You pay no attention to what 'soul' wants.
The soul does not want to believe the gospel - the soul being the will, the intellect and the emotions. It opposes the Spirit. But Abraham was a man who walked by faith - not in his soul, or in the flesh. And the 'man' Jesus walked by faith. He did not let His soul rule Him in anything. And that is what you will have to do, and God's grace will be sufficient for you to do it. You may say, "This is too hard." But Jesus would say to you, "Nothing is too hard for God. All things are possible, if you can believe." This is not talking about perfecting the flesh, either - it cannot be perfected. This is a work of the Spirit in your life - purifying your heart and your soul by faith; cleansing your 'marred' vessel. And mine has been as 'marred' as most. But thank God, the light of the glorious gospel started shining in my heart and purging it - and still is.
In closing, it says in Isaiah 32:17 that the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness is quietness and assurance for ever. And after you have suffered awhile, He will make you perfect, stablish, strengthen and settle you. That is what you have to look to - the end result of your faith - which is the saving of your soul!
Well, until next time, God Bless You!
